Luxury Hotels Atlas / Places / Ireland / Cashel / Cashel Palace Hotel
Cashel Palace Hotel
Cashel, Ireland · Palladian Hotels · Grand Luxury
This Palladian manor dates to 1732 and became a hotel in 1959, a celebrity haunt in the late 20th century, then a thorough renovation under new owners. It sits beside the Rock of Cashel: round tower, church, and graveyard. Lute flags The Bishop's Buttery (French-Irish cooking), a residents-only cocktail snug, and outdoor seaweed baths with a plunge pool. The Queen Anne Room handles breakfast; a modern wing holds larger, plainer suites.
- 42 rooms
- Opened 1962
- Rooms from 172 sq ft (16 m²)
- Architect: Edward Lovett Pearce
About Cashel Palace Hotel
- The property was awarded MICHELIN Two Keys in 2025.
- The Palladian house dates to 1732, became a hotel in 1959, and sits beside the Rock of Cashel.
- The Bishop's Buttery mixes French and Irish cooking; overnight guests get a residents-only cocktail snug.
- The spa includes outdoor seaweed baths, a plunge pool, and a Jacuzzi.
- Entry-level rooms start at 172 sq ft (16 m²).
History
Archbishop Theophilus Bolton commissioned this red-brick Palladian manor around 1730 as the Church of Ireland palace at the foot of the Rock of Cashel. Edward Lovett Pearce, Ireland's leading Palladian architect, designed the house, finished in 1732, with Serlian windows, Corinthian columns, and a limestone-dressed symmetry that still reads as a bishop's seat rather than a hotel. Successive Archbishops of Cashel lived here until 1833, when the Church Temporalities Act merged the diocese with Waterford and Lismore. The gardens keep a private Bishop's Walk up to the Rock and mulberry trees that local tradition dates to 1702.
The house has a long Guinness association. Richard Guinness, steward to Archbishop Arthur Price, is believed to have brewed ale from the palace well; Arthur Guinness, founder of St James's Gate, was the archbishop's godson. In 1959 the Church of Ireland sold the palace to Lord Brockett, who opened it as a hotel in 1962. Through the late twentieth century it became a racing-and-society address: Jacqueline Kennedy, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, Ronald Reagan, and Diana, Princess of Wales all stayed. Champion trainer Vincent O'Brien later owned it; Pat and Susan Murphy followed.
The hotel closed in 2014. The Magnier family of Coolmore Stud bought it in 2016 and began a conservation-led restoration in 2017, keeping Georgian panelling, staircases, and limestone while adding garden wings and a spa. It reopened on 1 March 2022 as a five-star house of 42 rooms and joined Relais & Châteaux.
Restaurants and bars
- The Bishop's Buttery — Restaurant · modern Irish · One MICHELIN Star
- Queen Anne Room — Restaurant
- Guinness Bar — Bar
- The Residents Cocktail Bar — Bar
- Donoghue's — Restaurant
- Mikey Ryan's Bar & Kitchen — Restaurant · farm-to-fork bistro
- Recharge Health Bar — Bar
Experiences
- Equine Concierge — Bespoke equine visits: behind-the-scenes access to Coolmore Stud and Ballydoyle, riding excursions, Fethard Horse Country Museum.
- Movement classes — A growing calendar of classes, from mindful Pilates to high-energy full-body workouts.
Amenities
- Outdoor seaweed baths
Awards
- MICHELIN Two Keys (2026)
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